Chief Financial Officers –Priorities in 2017
400Respondents
50Chief Financial Officers interviewed
2Round tables
In partnership with
Summary of the survey
Chief Financial Officers - Priorities in 2017 PwC | DFCG | 2Chief Financial Officers - Priorities in 2017
Presentation of the
survey
Summary of the survey
Contents
Editorial 3
Presentation of the survey 6
Acknowledgements 7
Methodology 8
Summary of the survey 9
Ranking of priorities in 2017 10
Transformation of the Finance Function 11
Digital Transformation 13
Human Capital 17
Contacts 20
Financial Departments interviewed 21
PwC & DFCG 22
Chief Financial Officers - Priorities in 2017 PwC | DFCG | 3
EDITORIAL
Chief Financial Officers - Priorities in 2017 PwC | DFCG | 4Chief Financial Officers - Priorities in 2017
Editorial Presentation of the survey Summary of the survey
This year, more than 400 respondents answered anonline questionnaire for the new edition ofthe DFCG-PwC Chief Financial Officers – Prioritiesin 2017 survey, which is a 50% increase onlast year. More than 50 interviews were alsocarried out and the highlights are available on thesurvey website, www.pwc.fr/priorites-2017-directeur-financier.html
The figures speak for themselves. Today's ChiefFinancial Officers are communicating morethan ever before. In the current digital era, theneed to share and compare market practices withyour peers has never been stronger.
New shift in rankings
Perhaps the most striking factor in the 2017 surveyis that, for the first time since it was launched fiveyears ago, the way you rank your priorities haschanged.
Top of the list today we have Performance &Risk Control, which has slid ahead ofPredictive Management, with DevelopmentStrategy rising ten points to take third place aheadof Cash, Liquidity & Finance.
But why the change now after five years of
unwavering stability?
While the drop in rank for Finance can largely beexplained by the current financial marketbackdrop, particularly the fall in interest rates, thelower value assigned to Predictive Managementreflects the conclusions of the work already carriedout by companies.
Predictive Management remains essential and agreat deal of time has already been invested in thisarea. It is, however, a difficult exercise, and onethat requires a great deal of work from teams –sometimes to the detriment of adequatePerformance & Risk Control analysis. Despite this,the fact that Predictive Management was rankedthe no. 2 priority shows that you obviouslycontinue to rate it as crucial and still in need ofimprovement when it comes to automated datacollection, depth of analysis and communications.
The shift in priorities also clearly reflects yourmisgivings as to predictive management as amethod because it is not an end in itself. It issimply a tool designed to achieve the best possibleperformance, something which is only possiblethrough Risk Control.
Transformation of the Finance Function: amajor challenge
Another clear finding is that you are aware ofthe importance of launching and/or pursuing a realtransformation of your function as part of theglobal Transformation, particularly since it oftensets the tone for other support functions. TheTransformation of the Finance Function appears tohave become a core issue for Chief Financial
Officers and one that encompasses all of thepriorities and challenges tackled in this survey.Read on to discover your answers to the question,"What does the Transformation of the FinanceFunction mean for you?".
Obviously, there is no one answer. Having saidthat, you too are faced with the same complexequation: how to improve the support that FinanceFunctions can offer while still containing risk andoptimising costs?
Digital, Human Capital and InternationalDevelopment: three challenges to underpinbusiness growth
PwC and DFCG have decided to devote this year'ssummary to a detailed analysis of three majorchallenges that will necessarily contribute toresolving this equation.
1. Digital Transformation: passing fad or realopportunity? Neither! An analysis of youranswers shows that it is a basic requirement.
2. What role does Human Capital have to play inyour transformation? A pivotal role! The resultsclearly show that, along with digital technology,human capital is at the centre of debate.
3. Is international development part of yourcompany's transformation? To this question,most of you answered "Yes, of course". Some ofyou even went as far as to say that the answerwas so obvious that it no longer merited thequestion. In today's digital era, any business,whatever its size, is international by definition!
Pascal Corcos
Partner – Finance Competency Leader
Editorial (1/2)
Chief Financial Officers - Priorities in 2017 PwC | DFCG | 5Chief Financial Officers - Priorities in 2017
Editorial Presentation of the survey Summary of the survey
The results of the survey show that Chief FinancialOfficers need to face these three challenges at thesame time.
There is no doubt that it would be illogical, evencounter-productive to develop a business's digitalresources without tackling the issue of employeeexperience (optimal use of a tool, dataexploitation, collaboration, sharing, etc.),or to develop overseas without firstunderstanding the culture or knowing who toappoint locally. In both instances, human capital iscentral to the process, particularly when it comesto soft skills and management expertise.
Can we go as far as to deduce that, in today's
digital era, Chief Financial Officers must
above all be able to communicate as well as
motive and empower? The resounding answer
is "Yes".
The Transformation of Finance Functions
is a basic requirement, and human capital
the key to success
To be able to adapt to the frenetic rate of
technological breakthroughs, the constant changes
in regulations (IFRS, tax, etc.) and the strategic
priorities defined by management, today's Finance
Functions have to be extremely agile. Teams are
getting busier and busier but also being given
more and more opportunities. A brief look at three
topics covered in this survey – cloud computing,
robotisation and predictive analytics – shows how.
Cloud or no cloud? According to the survey,
this is no longer even a question for 83% of Chief
Financial Officers. Cloud computing has become
an essential part of Finance information systems
for everything from the digitalisation of documents
and closing files to cash management, tax,
enterprise resource planning (ERP), enterprise
performance management (EPM) and business
intelligence (BI).
In addition to their many benefits (short projects,
robust solutions, reliability and security, cost
transparency and sharing of best practices), cloud-
based tools open the door to new disciplines,
new skills and an agile, collaborative approach to
project management that places the emphasis on
the profession and on more effective
communication with other company
functions outside of Finance.
Are we approaching the "robotisation" of the
accounting profession and subsequent end to a
support function? While this question may seem
shocking, even scary, nearly 50% of you said that
you were considering launching a project to
automate accounting between now and 2020! It's
"inevitable" you say, because this major
technological breakthrough offers a response
to three challenges: lower administrative costs,
stricter compliance and better operational support.
By using algorithms to automate repetitive tasks,
we humans will be able to focus more attention on
analysing performance indicators. However,
performance should not come before compliance.
So while the function remains essential, it needs to
evolve and develop the skills of its teams.
"Predictive analytics", or getting data to talk.While the much-hyped notion of big data stillscared some people last year, many of you are nowdaring to use machines to calculate futureinventory needs, sales, client risk, cash positionsand compliance risks by processing internal,external, financial and extra-financial data. Thepossibilities are even greater than they appear: thechallenge being to improve the reliability andrelevance of the information that financialteams provide to operations staff and tomanagement.
To sum up, in the previous two surveys we sawthat digital technology was mainly viewed as an"IT" topic that Chief Financial Officers haddifficulty understanding. This year, althoughquestions still abound (ROI and suitability withother projects), you appear to be convinced ofits necessity. Better yet, there is growingawareness of the opportunities to be had bycombining digital tools with organisational andhuman resources.
On behalf of DFCG and PwC, I hope you enjoy this"digital" presentation of the results of our surveyon Chief Financial Officer priorities in 2017.
Editorial (2/2)
Chief Financial Officers - Priorities in 2017 PwC | DFCG | 6
PRESENTATION
OF THE SURVEY
Acknowledgements 7
Methodology 8
Chief Financial Officers - Priorities in 2017 PwC | DFCG | 7Chief Financial Officers - Priorities in 2017
Editorial Presentation of the survey Summary of the survey
Our sincere thanks to the 400 Chief Financial Officers who took the time to answer our online
survey, and to the 50 Chief Financial Officers* who agreed to share their 2017 challenges with us during
a series of one-on-one interviews.
Acknowledgements
* Nine CFOs wished to remain anonymous.
Chief Financial Officers - Priorities in 2017 PwC | DFCG | 8Chief Financial Officers - Priorities in 2017
Editorial Presentation of the survey Summary of the survey
Breakdown by business sector
1online
questionnaire
6%
22%Manufacturing
14%Distribution/Consumer goods
13%Services
8%Banking/Insurance
8%Real estate/Construction
Transport/Logistics
Other:
• Energy• Pharmaceuticals/Health• Telecoms/Tech • Public sector • Media/Entertainment • Luxury goods
29%
50+interviews with Chief
Financial Officers
2round tables
with DFCG/ Scientific Committee
Breakdown by company size
Large corporates
17%
SMEs
34% 49%
Middle market companies
videos | www.pwc.fr
5
Methodology
Chief Financial Officers
responded
400+
Revenue < €49m Revenue €50m -€1,499m Revenue > €1,500m
Chief Financial Officers - Priorities in 2017 PwC | DFCG | 9
SUMMARY OF THE SURVEY
Ranking of priorities in 2017 10
Transformation of the Finance Function 11
Digital transformation 13
New applications 13
Data management 15
Human Capital 17
Skills management 17
Career planning and international mobility 19
Chief Financial Officers - Priorities in 2017 PwC | DFCG | 10Chief Financial Officers - Priorities in 2017
Editorial Presentation of the survey Summary of the surveyRanking of priorities in 2017
Development Strategy
Main changes in the ranking of priorities in 2017
Predictive Management
Performance & Risk Control
Cash, Liquidity& Finance
Development Strategy
Transformation of the Finance Function
Tax Tax
Transformation of the Finance Function
Cash, Liquidity& Finance
Performance & Risk Control
Predictive Management
1
22
3
44
5
6
5
6
2016 2017
1
3
Chief Financial Officers - Priorities in 2017 PwC | DFCG | 11Chief Financial Officers - Priorities in 2017
Editorial Presentation of the surveySummary of the surveyTransformation of the Finance Function
What does the Transformation of the Finance Function mean for Chief Financial Officers?
Digitalising business partners
Improving team productivity
Adapting skills to tools
Adapting business models
Improving information systems
Reducing costs
Adapting to client needs
Securing processes
Simplifying processes
Supporting growth
Managing skills
Optimising data flows
Chief Financial Officers - Priorities in 2017 PwC | DFCG | 12Chief Financial Officers - Priorities in 2017
Editorial Presentation of the surveySummary of the surveyTransformation of the Finance Function
Transformation of the Finance Function: a major challenge in line with Finance Department needs and objectives
Human Capital
Digital Transformation
International Development
Successful
transformation
Keys to a successful transformationSharp increase in priority given to the Transformation of Finance Functions
Chief Financial Officers - Priorities in 2017 PwC | DFCG | 13Chief Financial Officers - Priorities in 2017
Editorial Presentation of the surveySummary of the surveyDigital Transformation: new applications
Digital Transformation: passing fad or real opportunity? Neither – it is a basic requirement!
More and more Chief Financial Officers are looking to upgrade their information systems.
201640% 201760%
Change in use of digital technology between 2016 and 2020
The Transformation of theFinance Function is achievedthrough digital drivers, throughthe digitalisation and"robotisation" of processes. Ourgoal in 2017 is to strengthen ourprocesses and step up theirautomation so they run moreefficiently. In doing so, we hope tosave money but above all toimplement new performanceindicators.
Damien O'Neill, TF1
2017-2020
2016Target
Current maturity
Digitalisation (P2P, O2C, R2R)
Cloud computing
Robotisation
85%83%
31%
2%
48%
69%
<
“
„
Chief Financial Officers - Priorities in 2017 PwC | DFCG | 14Chief Financial Officers - Priorities in 2017
Editorial Presentation of the surveySummary of the surveyDigital Transformation: new applications
Cloud ambitions
Digitalisation, cloud computing and robotisation: three digital trends driving transformation
Significant interest in robotisation for Finance Function efficiency
of Chief Financial Officers believe
that digitalisation can make
the Finance Function moreefficient.
57% 44% 33%
of Chief Financial Officers said that
cloud computing would become an
essential part of Finance informationsystems. While data security is still amajor concern, it is no longer anobstacle.
Reduce IT costs Improve data reliability
Roll out tools
Priorities for close management tools
Examples of robotisation
Automate the review process for manual accounting entries
Smooth the peak in activity during
closing
Standardise the schedule for closing
66%
83%
48%of Chief Financial Officers acrossall company sizes believe that
robotisation will increase the
efficiency of the Finance Functionand improve internal control.
• Managing standards (creation and updates) • Managing client orders and/or disputes• Checking interfaces• Calculating and recording accounting entries• Identifying and analysing alerts
Digitalisation: a top priority, particularly thanks to financial closing management tools
42% 33% 30%
Chief Financial Officers - Priorities in 2017 PwC | DFCG | 15Chief Financial Officers - Priorities in 2017
Editorial Presentation of the surveySummary of the surveyDigital Transformation: data management
I'm very interested in datavisualisation and businessintelligence tools which can improvecommunication with our internalclients.
Laurent Adam, Banque Neuflize
2016 2017
Data management: significant progress made and more opportunities to be seized
Chief Financial Officers still think that their teams spend too much time collecting data,
something which is explained by an increasing amount of more complex reporting procedures and manual, labour-intensive processes.
Chief Financial Officers believe that efforts have been made to reduce the amount of time spent analysing data.
of Chief Financial Officers say they plan to implement
visualisation and mobility tools to improve Finance
Function efficiency.
60% 76%
Data collection
Data analysis
25% 2016 39% 2017
Data visualisation
41% “„
Chief Financial Officers - Priorities in 2017 PwC | DFCG | 16Chief Financial Officers - Priorities in 2017
Editorial Presentation of the surveySummary of the surveyDigital Transformation: data management
of Chief Financial Officers integrate
external data in their
indicators for comparative analyses
and budget forecasts.
of Chief Financial Officers said they
would like to integrate newmethods that include
external data and introduce
new practices to improve budgetforecasts.
"Predictive analytics": getting data to talk!
of Chief Financial Operators said they wanted to integrate cash in theirpredictive analytics. Cash flow forecasting is one of the main areas in which
predictive analytics is used by Finance Functions.
of Chief Financial Officerssaid they would like
to use predictivemodelling – a figure
that has risen steadilyover the past three years.
Predictive analytics applied to budgeting
24%
41%
Predictive analytics applied to cash flow forecasting
38%
Predictive analytics
20%
We have data scientists in our teamswho have developed algorithms forpredictive analytics. This enables usto compare forecasts by managementcontrollers with three other forecastsmade using these algorithms.
Mathilde Bluteau, Microsoft
“„
Chief Financial Officers - Priorities in 2017 PwC | DFCG | 17Chief Financial Officers - Priorities in 2017 PwC | DFCG | 17
Editorial Presentation of the survey Summary of the surveyHuman Capital: skills management
Human Capital: a key priority for Chief Financial Officers
Main drivers for Finance team development
Training
58%
Team building
38%
Peer learning communities
29%
of Chief Financial Officers said they believed skills management was the no. 1 priority intransforming the Finance Function.
54%
Today, my teams mostly need training in soft skills. To
ensure teams can benefit from career mobility (switch from anaccountant to a management position), it is important to:
• Give employees soft skills/management training.• Empower employees by challenging them (methods ofcalculation, how they justify discrepancies, etc.) and by askingthem for upward feedback (list of actions that they wouldrecommend to top management if they were in their position).
Olivier Durand, Alcatel
These days, Finance teams are under a lot ofpressure. In addition to their traditionalreporting role, they also have to manage thechallenges associated with the far-reaching transformation of the function aswell as help contain costs and support M&A'smany operations and projects. Plus, they have todo it all in an environment where compliancerules are getting stricter and internal controlmust be maintained at the same high level, if notincreased.
Dominique Carouge, Sanofi
Skills management
“
„
“
„
Chief Financial Officers - Priorities in 2017 PwC | DFCG | 18Chief Financial Officers - Priorities in 2017 PwC | DFCG | 18
Editorial Presentation of the survey Summary of the surveyHuman Capital: skills management
Skills management: seeking good all-rounders
of Chief Financial Officers prioritise
soft skills training: Manage,
Communicate, Convince andEmpower.
67%
42%
of Chief Financial Officers said they wanted to improve information sharing between
operational and Finance teams.
of Chief Financial Officers give first priority to management controllers when drawing
up their recruitment plan.
Managing soft skills is eventrickier. This is where you see thebiggest gap between accounting andmanagement controller profiles.
Fabienne Barouillet, Transavia
Technical skills remain an essential prerequisite in any team profile...
65%
... but soft skills are also needed...
... as is the sharing of information between operational and Finance teams
“ „
Chief Financial Officers - Priorities in 2017 PwC | DFCG | 19Chief Financial Officers - Priorities in 2017
Editorial Presentation of the surveySummary of the surveyCareer planning and international mobility
of Chief Financial Officers said that
employee career planning was the
main difficulty they faced in terms of
talent management.
of Chief Financial Officers said they had
difficulty recruiting/identifyinglocal profiles to send on internationalassignments and international candidates tobring to France.
41%
30%
Career planning and mobility management require close collaboration between the Finance and Human Resources Functions
Employee mobility remains a difficultarea. To encourage international experience,the HR Department has introduced specificcontracts for young, high-potentialemployees. Our People Review processeshave also been strengthened.
Romain Ferrière, RATP DEV
Internal mobility between functions and internationally: career development opportunities
Career planning: a difficult but vital exercise for developing talent
“„
Chief Financial Officers - Priorities in 2017 PwC | DFCG | 20
Presentation of the survey
Summary of the survey
Contacts
Finance Departments interviewed 21
PwC & DFCG 22
Finance Departments interviewed*
Adisseo Frédéric Puistienne
Air Liquide Alain Le Borgne
Air Paris Nicolas-Barissat-Mayrand
Alcatel Olivier Durand
Altran Albin Jacquemont
ATB Thierry Bonnevialle
Atena Eric Jankowski
Atos James Thieriot
AufémininBanque Neuflize
Patrick CaetanoLaurent Adam
Bayer France Rodolphe Spina
Beaumarly Côme Lefebvre du Prey
Business Partners Bruno Laigue
Contour Global Jean-Christophe Juillard
Criteo Benoit Fouilland
Desmet-Ballestra Jérôme de Bertoult
Extruflex Gwenaël Le Mouel
Imprimerie Nationale Arnaud Boussemart
IPSENAlexandre Visciglio &Sophie Marchandise
Julhiet Sterwen Group Aude Rigaudière
RATP DEV Romain Ferrière
Sanofi Dominique Carouge
Société Générale ALD Gilles Momper
Supratec Sylvie Gladieux
Systra Olivier Dezorme
TF1 Damien O’Neill
Transavia Fabienne Barouillet
Union Laitière de la Meuse Yves Boulanger
Veolia Denis Chesseron
Meubles Demeyre Nicolas Damez
Microsoft Mathilde Bluteau
Nestlé France Giulio Gerardo
NetBooster Vincent Added
Orange Djamel Benallal
PicWic Xavier Dorlencourt
Pierre Fabre Luc Peligry
Playmobil France Marion Pacherie
PMU Florence de Noray
PSB Remi Weidenmann
Company Person interviewed Company Person interviewed
* Nine companies wished to remain anonymous.
La Poste Bernard Mirailles
Macors Thibault Demoulin
PwC | DFCG |21
PwC & DFCGLudovic de BeauvoirPartner, Head of Consulting, PwC [email protected]
Pascal CorcosPartner, Finance Competency Leader, PwC [email protected]
Béatrice LeboucGeneral Delegate, [email protected]
Pierre-Yves BingDirector of Studies and Training, [email protected]
Alexandre PailloncyPartner, Consulting – Finance, PwC [email protected]
Céline JoubertPartner, Consulting – Finance, PwC [email protected]
Céline Roy-LarentryPartner, Consulting – Finance, PwC [email protected]
Laurent GuibertPartner, Consulting – Finance, PwC [email protected]
Thierry HamonPartner, Consulting – People and Organization, PwC [email protected]
Arnaud RemyDirector, Consulting – [email protected]
Chloé LéglantierDirector, Consulting – [email protected]
José BaghdadDirector, Consulting – [email protected]
Florian JouvenotDirector, Consulting – [email protected]
Maryse LecutierDirector, Consulting – [email protected]
Alexandre LordereauSenior Manager, Consulting – [email protected]
Guillaume ValantinSenior Manager, Consulting – [email protected]
Kévin GuezennecSenior Manager, Consulting – [email protected]
Pierre DaudreSenior Manager, Consulting – [email protected]
Martial ThomazoManager, Consulting – [email protected]
Fatima DaoudiConsultant, Consulting – [email protected]
This content is for general information purposes only, and should not be used as a substitute for consultation withprofessional advisers. PricewaterhouseCoopers Advisory, and/or any member of the PwC network may not be heldliable for any decision taken on the basis of the information contained in this publication, or the consequences thereof.© 2016. PricewaterhouseCoopers Advisory. All rights reserved.
PwC | DFCG |22
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